It's 5:30pm on December 31, Friday afternoon. The celebration is starting
to begin. A very happy and healthy New Year to you all. I'll be in Sydney
Harbour, where there's supposed to be an enormous fireworks display,
concerts, alcohol, and maybe even some shootings.

I'm sitting in my hostel room, windows open and a soft, cool breeze flowing
through the room. I managed to get a room at Eva's Backpackers for another
few days at inflated millennium prices, after which I plan to rent a bedroom
in a house or an apartment. It is clear, dry, and crisp outside, not a
cloud in the sky. A perfect Sydney day.

I'm learning more about this place every day. Turns out that some
mega-company called Telstra runs all the phone lines and charges up the butt
for everything. It costs money to make any call, even local ones. I am now
able to dial-up with my laptop now, so it should be a little easier to
communicate.

Went out last night to a local bar called O'Malley's, and was introduced to
VB, or Victoria Bitter, thanks to my roommates from Wales. That was after
having, you guessed it, a Foster's.

The area I'm staying in, called King's Cross, is affectionately referred to
by the locals as "the armpit of Sydney". Woke up early to get some
"brekkie" and noticed that prostitutes line the street as early as 9am.
Some hang out right in front of McDonald's. By the way, they serve
McFlurries made with Nerds here. And you get served by Asians with
Australian accents. Very surreal.

Off to Bondi Beach tomorrow.

Until next time,

Jeff